Brooklyn Peter Jay Sharp Building Communications Department Academy 30 Lafayette Avenue Sandy Sawotka of Brooklyn NY 11217 1486 Fatima Kafele

Music Telephone: 718.636.4129 Eva Chien Fax: 718.857 .2021 Tamara McCaw Jennifer Lam [email protected] News Release

BAM presents U.S. premiere of 's Hedda Gabler, starring in her U.S. stage debut-directed by Robyn Nevin

BAM 2006 Spring Season is sponsored by Bloomberg

Hedda Gabler By Henrik Ibsen Adapted by Andrew Upton Sydney Theatre Company Directed by Robyn Nevin Set designed by Fiona Crombie Costumes designed by Kristian Fredrikson Lighting designed by Nick Schlieper Music composed by Alan John

BAM Harvey Theater (651 Fulto n St) Feb 28 at 8pm* Mar 1--4, 7- 11, 14- 18, 21-25 at 7:30pm (note: Mar 1 is press opening) Mar 4, l l , 18 & 25 at2pm Mar 5, 12, 19&26at3pm Tickets: $30, 50, 85 *BAM and Sydney Theatre Company benefit evening. Call BAM Patron Services at 718.636.4182 for tickets.

BAMdialogue with Robyn Nevin & Andrew Upton Mar 2 at 6pm BAM Rose Cinemas Tickets: $8 ($4 for Friends of BAM)

Brook lyn, NY/January 27, 2006 --Academy Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett (The Avia tor, Eli:::abeth,The Talented Mr. Ripley) makes her U.S. stage debut in the highly acclaimed Sydney Theatre Company production of Henrik Ibsen 's Hedda Gabler, also featuring the U.S. stage debut of renowned actor (The Lord of the Rings and The Matrix trilogi es). Adapted by Andrew Upton and directed by Sydney Theatre Compan y Artistic Director Robyn Nevin, Hedda Gabler premiered at Sydney Theatre Company's Wharf 1 Theater on July 27,

SPRING 2004, where it enjoyed a sold-out run. BAM will present the production with its original cast-Cate Blanchett, Annie Byron, Justine Clarke, Julie Hamilton, Hugo Weaving, Anthony Weigh, and Aden Young--coinciding with a 2006 worldwide centennial celebration oflbsen's work.

One of Ibsen's most compelling and conflicted characters, Hedda Gabler is an aristocratic woman aching to be free of her middle-class husband and yet terrified of scandal. As portrayed by Blanchett, an actress of extraordinary dramatic range and intelligence, the role of Hedda Gabler is, according to Variety." ... executed with impeccable pitch and tone." Sydney's Sunday Telegraph calls Blanchett's portrayal " ... full of nuance and pace, pathos and ill-concealed rage." The adaptation of Ibsen's play by Andrew Upton is, according to Variety. " ... [a] playful and gently contemporary interpretation of Hedda .. .a key to the production's success." Sydney's Sunday Telegraph comments that Robyn Nevin's direction is "clear, energized and aware of the demons a sensible marriage has unleashed in her anti-heroine."

The Sydney Theatre Company (STC), established in 1978, is Australia's largest and pre-eminent state theater company. Led by Artistic Director and CEO Robyn Nevin, STC operates out of The Wharf(its home venue on Sydney's harbor), the new Sydney Theatre, and the Drama Theatre at the Sydney Opera House. The STC has provided a theatrical home for Australia's finest talents including , Mel Gibson, Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Hugo Weaving, and Marcus Graham. The company's productions tour across Australia and internationally. Annually, STC presents twelve mainstage productions, including new works by Australian writers as well as interpretations of the classics. STC also administers play development and education programs. Upcoming 2006 productions include The History Boys, Doubt, I Am My Own Wife, and Urinetown. Sydney Theatre Company made its New York debut at BAM with John Webster's The White Devil (2001).

Director Robyn Nevin is the Artistic Director and CEO of Sydney Theatre Company. She was appointed in 1999. Sydney Theatre Company (as Director): includes Boy Gets Girl, Summer Rain,Sce nes from a Separation, Hedda Gabler, Harbour, The Real Thing,M ajor Barbara, Hanging Man, A Doll's House, ,The Recruit, Corporate Vibes, The Girl Who Saw Everything,Sies tas in a Pink Hotel, The Philadelphia Story , Heartbreak House. As Actor: includes The Cherry Orchard, The Breath Of Life,The Glas s Menagerie , Old Masters, (2001 & 1979), Life After George, , The Ham Funeral, Big & Little, , Woman in Mind, The Seagull, , The Way of the World, Macbeth, Cyrano de Bergerac,The Pree ious Woman. Other theatre: (as Director): QTC: includes , Honour,Summer Rain, A Month In The Country. MTC: Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, Scenes from a Separation,Kids takes, On Top of the World. STCSA: . As Actor: QTC: The Marriage of Figaro, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Amy's View, Master Class, Money & Friends. MTC: A Cheery Soul,Julius Caesar,The Cherry Orchard, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Belvoir St: Diving for Pearls. STCSA: Hedda Gabler. Film: includes , ,The Cas tie, Angel Baby,Gr eenkeeping, Emerald City, Careful He Might Hear You. As Director: The More Things Change. Positions: currently Artistic Director and CEO of STC; Artistic Director and CEO ofQTC 1996-99, Associate Director MTC 1994-1996, Associate Director STC 1984- 1987. Awards include Australian Creative Artists' Fellowship; Sydney Critics ' Circle Award for Best Actress for Diving For Pearls; Sydney Critics' Circle Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Theatre; Honorary Doctorate from the ; Logie, Penguin, and Sammy Awards for Best Actress for Water Under the Bridge; AM (Member in the Order of Australia) for Services to the Performing Arts ( 1981 ).

Cate Blanchett Sydney Theatre Company: Hedda Gabler, Kafka Dances, Sweet Phoebe,Ole anna,Top Girls. Belvoir St Theatre: The Tempest, Hamlet,The Sea gull, The Blind Giant Is Dancing. Almeida Theatre: Plenty. Film: Little Fish,The Aviator , The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Missing,Coffe e and Cigarettes, Veronica Guerin, Heaven, The Shipping News, Charlotte Gray, Bandits, The Gift, The Man Who Cried, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Pushing Tin, Bangers, Elizabeth, Oscar and Lucinda, Thank God He Met Lizzie, Paradise Road. Upcoming releases include The Good German, Notes on a Scandal,B abet. Awards: 1993 Sydney Theatre Critics Award Best Actress for Oleanna; 1993 Sydney Theatre Critics Award Best Newcomer for Kafka Dances; 1997 Australian Film Institute Award Best Supporting Actress and Film Critics Circle of AustraliaAward Best SupportingActress for ThankGod He Met Lizzie; 1999 Golden Globe Award Best Actress in a Drama, BAFTA Award Best Actress, London Film Critics Association Best Actress, SAG Award Nomination Best Actress, and Academy Award No mi nation Best Actress for Elizabeth; 200 I National Board of Review: Best Supporting Actress for The Man Who Cried; 2002 Golden Camera Award for Heaven; 2005 Academy Award Best Supporting Actress, BAFTA Award Best Supporting Actress, and SAG Award Best Supporting Actress for The Aviator ; 2005 Helpmann Award Best Actress for Hedda Gabler; 2005 Australian Film Institute Award Best Actress, IF Award Best Actress, and Film Critics Circle of Australia Best Actress for Little Fish.

' Hugo Weaving Sydney Theatre Company: Hedda Gabler, The Real Thing,The White Devil, Arcadia,The Seer et Rapture,The Madras House, Henry IV Part !,Hamlet, The Cherry Orchard, Gossip from the Forest, The Way of the World, The Perfectionist,A.s You Desire Me, Macbeth, A Map of the World, You Can't Take It with You. Other theatre: Company B: The Alchemist, The Blind Giant is Dancing,The Popular Mechanicals. Burning House: That Eye The Sky. MTC: Much Ado About Nothing, The Taming of the Shrew . STCSA: Julius Caesar, Private Lives, Ring Round the Moon. Kinselas: Don's Party. Nimrod: Les Liaisons Dangereuses, A Midsummer Night's Dream. Film: Happy Feet, Little Fish, Everything Goes,Peaches, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Old Man Who Read Love Stories, Russian Doll, Strange Planet, The Matrix Trilogy , Bedrooms and Hallways,Th e Interview, Babe, True Love and Chaos, The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, Frauds, The Custodian, Exile, Reckless Kelly , Proof, Wendy Cracked a Walnut, The Right Hand Man, For Love Alone,The City's Edge. TV: After The Deluge, Bordertown,The Bite, Naked - Coral Island, A Long Way From Home, Blood Brothers, Lust, Bangkok Hilton , Dirtwater Dynasty,Melba, Bodyline. Awards: 2005 Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor, Inside Film Award for Best Actor and Film Critics ' Circle of Australia Award nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Little Fish; Helpmann Award nomination for Best Male Actor in a Supporting Role in a Play for Hedda Gabler; 1991 AFI Award and Australian Film Critics' Circle Award for Best Performance in a Lead Role for Proof; Best Actor Award at the World Film Festival in Montreal and AFI Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for The Interview.

For press information contact Sandy Sawotka at 718.636.4129 xl or ssawotka~v.bam .orn:.

Credits BAM 2006 Spring Season is sponsored by Bloomberg. Citigroup is the major sponsor for Hedda Gabler. BAM's Hedda Gabler Travel Partners are Tourism New South Wales and Qantas Vacations. Qantas Airways is the official airline for Hedda Gabler. The Hedda Gabler Benefit is sponsored by GUCCI and DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary.

Leadership support for BAM Theater is provided by The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc.; The Shubert Foundation; and The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation . Additional support for BAM Theater is provided by the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust; Francena T. Harrison Foundation Trust; Billy Rose Foundation, Inc.; and the Rose M. Badgeley Residuary Charitable Trust. Programming in the BAM Harvey Theater is endowed by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation .

This project is supported by the Australia Council for the Arts, Australian Government through the Images of Australia Branch , Department ofForeign Affairs and Trade, and P & 0 Nedloyd. BAM would like to thank the Australian Consulate General in New York for its partnership.

BAM thanks its many donors and sponsors, including : New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The New York City Council, Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council, Brooklyn Delegation of the U.S. House of Representatives, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, New York State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation , The Estate of Richard B. Fisher, The Howard Gilman Foundation, The Florence Gould Foundation, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, The Starr Foundation, Time Warner Inc., The Shubert Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Skirball Foundation, The Kovner Foundation, and Robert W. Wilson Foundation. JPMorgan Chase is BAM's Lead Corporate Partner. New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge is the official hotel for the Next Wave Festival. Yamaha is the official piano of BAM. RIGA is the sponsor ofBAM.org.

General Information BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, BAMcafe, and Shakespeare & Co. BAMshop are located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn's only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafe, operated by Great Performances, also features an eclectic mix of spoken word and live music on Friday and Saturday nights. A $21 three-course dinner at BAMcafe is available Fri-Sat for BAM Rose Cinemas ticket holders (day of screening only). BAMcafe is open Fridays and Saturdays from 5pm-closing. Additionally , BAMcafe is open two hours prior to all Howard Gilman Opera House and Harvey Theater performances . Subway : 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue; D, M, N, R to Pacific Street ; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue Train: Long Island Railroad to Flatbush Avenue Bus: B25, B26, B41 , B45, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM

For ticket and BAMbus information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit www.barn.om: .

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